As the fashion world awaits his arrival there — where it’s assumed he’ll soon be appointed creative director and pull in $18 million a year — some are questioning whether Simons’ price tag is simply too high for a business that makes most of its money selling underwear, fragrances and jeans. Simons’ résumé is tilted towards couture.

Widely seen as a fashion visionary, Simons left Christian Dior as creative director last fall. At Calvin Klein, owned by PVH Corp., he’d be in charge of the elite Calvin Klein Collection, a small business that brings in roughly $6 million to $8 million, along with the rest of the brand’s products.

“It’s an enormous contract,” one industry insider said to our Lisa Fickenscher, “and it makes you wonder what PVH plans to do with the collection.”

Added another insider, “Whatever PVH is doing with Raf is a total waste if it doesn’t hire more people. You don’t go into luxury with just one person. They are signing to be a player.”